ProppFrexx v2.0 .NET: Broadcast Automation and Scheduling

ProppFrexx is a stand-alone application, which is able to remotely control your external Winamp media player. ProppFrexx can monitor and control the Winamp playlist and can add tracks to the playlist on the fly. ProppFrexx is not a Winamp plug in, but it uses the standard Winamp command line options and the Windows messaging services supported by the Winamp API to communicate with Winamp.
ProppFrexx is designed to work with Winamp 2.x and 5.x. It might not propperly work with Winamp 3.x, so it is highly recommended to use Winamp 2.x or 5.x (at least version 2.7; version 2.8, 2.9 or 5.01 recommended), since these are currently the only versions which support the Shoutcast DSPs plug ins needed for internet radio broadcasting.
 
ProppFrexx manages M3U files and treats their content as media libraries which include all the tracks you might want to play.
 
You can define scripts in which you specify a sequence of commands which define from what media library you want to (randomly) cue tracks to Winamp, whenever the playlist is at its end.
 
Finally ProppFrexx has a program scheduler. You can define when, for how long and at what repeat interval certain scripts should be automatically executed.
 
Putting all three components together will enable you to run your radio station fully automated. You can be on vacation, on work or just relax in the sun … ProppFrexx will schedule your program, select the tracks automatically from your media libraries and will feed them to Winamp.
Also making sure, that no track will be played twice in a defined period of time by using extensive song history features.
 
ProppFrexx is may be the most efficient and easiest way to handle non-stop radio automation!
But ProppFrexx also hosts a lot of features to run your program manually (e.g. whenever your are in your studio). This includes a media library explorer, pre-listen functions through a fully integrated Windows Media Player Series 9, a whole set of M3U library management functions, TCP/IP remote access when using a client and server instance of ProppFrexx any many more...
 

 
 
 

This is the main window of ProppFrexx v2.0 .NET. This window controls all other windows and if closed it will minimize all other ProppFrexx window to the system tray also.
The top toolbar hosts the following functions:
- The General Configuration Dialog
- The Remote Server/Client
- The Library Management
- The Media Library Explorer
- The Internal Program Scheduler
 
In the center part of the main window you will find on the left side the display panel of the media player. This will be refreshed at certain intervals and will actually display a shadow of the status of your external media player (Winamp).
Furthermore on the right side the current program scheduler status is displayed showing the currently active program and script as well as the next program to come.
 
The bottom toolbar hosts the following functions:
- The AutoCue option of the program scheduler
- The Busy and Scripting Indicator
- The external player controls
- The Repeat player option
Finally the status bar at the very bottom displaying the last operation of ProppFrexx and the current system time and date.
 
 
 

Concept: A ProppFrexx Library consists of three different types:
1) Media Library Entries
2) Script Library Entries
3) Program Library Entries
 
These entries (and their configuration parameters) are stored in an XML file. You can have multiple of these XML files, but there will only be one loaded at a time. Since program entries will reference to script entries and script entries will reference to media entries it is important to keep these references together. This is ensured within one XML library configuration files.
The Library management window is probable the most important configuration window, since you control and manage all these entries here.
 
The library management window consists of a tab control which has the following tab folders:
- Media Entries
- Script Entries
- Program Entries
- Internal Queue
- Global Song History
 
The Media Library:
Concept: Each entry represents a kind of database reference. Actually ProppFrexx does not make use of any database like MySQL. But ProppFrexx manages links to external M3U files.
Each M3U file will represent a media library which can be seen as a database though. The track definitions (links to the real physical media files) contained within the M3U file are loaded by ProppFrexx into its main memory.
Every entry within the M3U file is seen as a track within ProppFrexx. Since ProppFrexx loads the M3U file into memory, only a shadow of the file content is actively present within ProppFrexx. However, ProppFrexx offers extensive automatic features to frequently reload the M3U files (e.g. at each start of a script or in defined periodical intervals) to refresh its main memory image. In the meantime you can easily access the M3U file by yourself and modify it (e.g. adding new tracks). When done just tell ProppFrexx to reload the media library and the M3U file will be read again and the tracks will be reloaded.
 
The Script Library:
Concept: Each entry represents a reference to an external script file which contains the line to be executed. A script when executed controls what tracks should be picked from which media library. Moreover a script has a header which defines additional options which are performed at the start of the script. Scripts allow you to define a sequence of cueing commands. The script when started is running forever until you either stop the script or the program scheduler starts another script.
The options of a script are:
- Automatic Media-Library reload on script start
- Clear Playlist (of Winamp)
- Add a real First Track (e.g. Intro)
- Archiving and additional Script Song History
- Automatic Advertisement Inserts (e.g. every N to M tracks randomly)
A script might contain any number of lines. A script line defines:
- Select Mode : how to pick a track from a media library (sequential, random...)
- Media Reference : ID of a media library or external media reference
- Script Reference : recursive script execution
- Number of tracks to insert
- History Checking (yes, no)
 
The Program Library:
Concept: Each entry represents a program scheduler entry. A program scheduler entry defines a next execution time and an optional repeat interval for starting the specified scripts (which are also defined within a scheduler entry).
When the program scheduler is active it monitors the system time and determines which scheduler entry should become active next. When a next scheduler entry is due, ProppFrexx automatically stops the current running program and the associated script and start the new program with the associated scripts.
This means, that a when the scheduler is active, it is ensured, that at any time a script is running.
 
The options of a program are:
- Max. Duration
- Repeat Interval (days, hours)
- Exec Script or File
- Final Script
 
The Internal Queue:
Concept: Tracks can either be cued directly to the external player or can be cued first to an Internal Queue. The Internal Queue can be seen as a ProppFrexx internal temporary playlist.
You can use the Internal Queue from every window (e.g. Main, Media Explorer, Media Library, Remote Server etc.). When you cue tracks to the Internal Queue, those tracks are not directly forwarded to the external player.
The Internal Queue works on a first-in-first-out base. New tracks are always added to the end of the Internal Queue. The Internal Queue enables you to temporarily store tracks, manipulate them, change the order etc.
Finally cueing tracks from within the Internal Cue will move them to the external player.
 
The Song History:
Concept: The Global Song History is the primary tool to make sure, that the same tracks are not played twice within a certain period of time. The capacity or size of the Global Song History determines this period of time. You define the size of the Global Song History within The General Configuration Dialog using the History Entries parameter.
Whenever a match is found against the Global Song History the track will not be cued. During scripting when selecting random tracks from a media library, it will be ensured, that a proper track (not matching the history) will be selected from the respective script line.
When tracks are cued, they are placed at the end of the history. If the size of the Global Song History is exceeded, the oldest entries will be removed. This ensures a rotating history.
Beside the Global Song History there are the following other song histories:
- Script Library Song History
- Media Library Song History
 
 
 

Concept: The Media Explorer is not only a browser for your media libraries, it also hosts extensive functions to manage your M3U files. In addition it integrates the media libraries with the remote server.
The explorer functions are executes in parallel in independent threads to not interfere with any scheduling tasks of the master control process.
 
Beside many other features these are the main functionalities:
- List or Tree View
- Sorting
- Free Text Search for tracks
- Direct or Indirect cueing
- Pre-Listen through build-in media player
- cue external files
 
M3U Management functions include:
- Remove selected tracks from view only
- Select specific Tags
- Inverse selection
- Clear Tags on selected tracks
- Clear all Tags on selected tracks
- Delete selected tracks from library
- Physically remove selected tracks from disk
- Add external files to library
- Add and merge other M3U file to library
- Add directory
- Find newer files
- Diff library with another M3U file
- Remove duplicates from libraray
- Detect dead files within library
- Save current view to new M3U file
- Export selected tracks to new M3U file
- Copy selected tracks to directory
- and many more...
 
 
 

Concept: ProppFrexx can communicate to another ProppFrexx instance (e.g. running on a different machine) via this remote feature. Each instance of ProppFrexx can act as a server and/or as a client. This will allow sending commands from the client to the server.
 
The receiving server will interpret these command and execute the appropriate action. Typically this will be used to cue tracks from a client to a server (however only filenames are transmitted). The server in this case will cue the received track directly to its Internal Queue, so that it will be played the next time when scripting or scheduling is active.
In order to enable remote cueing you must ensure, that the server and the client can access the same tracks (filenames) in their respective file system. Since only filenames are transmitted you have to make sure, that the server which receives a filename is able to access the file. This can either be ensured by having a local copy of the tracks on both the server and the client machine or by using a shared volume which is accessed by the server as well as the client (you might use the drive mapping feature in both cases if the client and the server are using different drive mappings).
 
A remote client (when connected) will be able to send commands to the connected remote server. A client can only connect to one remote server whereas multiple clients might connect to one server.
 
 
 

If you are interested in ProppFrexx v2.0 .NET you might want to download a demo version using the link below.
However, you need to order (buy a user licence) and register ProppFrexx for Euro 39.95 if you want to regulary use it.